Casa Carvalho

Contents

The first Sunday we were in Goa, Frank and I decided to explore South Goa. On our way to Margao, we got pulled over by the police (a typical 3rd world experience) and my international driver's license paid off! Frank was stuck having to pay 500 rupees to get off the hook since he didn't have one. We stopped briefly in the market section of Margao, which is the commercial center of Goa, where I snapped this shot which I am particularly fond of. 

After eating lunch on metal plates for about a dollar, we headed for the beach. The "beaches" of South Goa are primarily one 25 Kilometer long stretch of soft, white sand with different parts given different names. We found an out-of-the-way section of beach and had a dip in the sea and bodysurfed a bit. As usual, there were many Russians around and signs on the beach huts were in Cyrillic characters. I noticed some kitesurfers off in the distance to the south so we decided to go talk to them. Turns out they were from England and were quite nice. Eric and Jane are their names, and the winds had been perfect lately and they were in a jolly good mood because of it. They even offered to teach me for free, so I got their phone number and email (they live here 6 months out of the year) and I plan to take them up on their offer. They told me I should check out Majorda beach for a place to live since it's one of the closest beaches to my office, so I did just that. We drove to the nicest little part of Majorda and asked the first shopkeeper we saw if she knew of any places for rent. She told us to follow her on her scooter to her sister-in-law's shop which is where I met Veronica Carvalho. She had a super sweet way about her and she showed me a flat that was above their family home which I have dubbed "Casa Carvalho". The flat was very nice and we arrived at an agreement on the spot...that was easy! Now for the pics Below is a picture of the street in front of my house. The beach is just down the road and a good restaurant, the Crab Key, is across the street at the Shangrila hotel. 

This is Casa Carvalho. I occupy the top-right section of the house with the right balcony. From left to right, the windows go: bedroom, bathroom, kitchen. 

This is my bedroom. I sleep in the larger of the two beds. The smaller bed can be put in the living room with its counterpart to form one large bed for guests. 

This is the living room where I hang out most of the time and where I am sitting right now as I type. I have this little wireless USB modem from Tata Indicom which works OK (I can't get broadband here in Majorda). 

The kitchen. 

The neighbor who I see from my kitchen heating a pot on a fire of palm fronds. 

This is a dog I've named "one-ear" since he only has one ear...creative, I know. According to Mr. Carvalho, someone in Marjorda cut it off because the dog was caught stealing. What a shame. Here's one-ear passed out in a heap of ashes in my neighbor's yard. I really like my neighbor's house. 

In general, I really like living here. At 15,000 rupees ($375) per month its expensive by Goan standards but its less than half of what I was paying in California for rent. A similar place in the states near work and the beach would cost 8 to 10 times as much I'm guessing. A tailor, ayurvedic doctor and masseur, "super" market, travel agent, gym (believe it or not) and many restaurants are all within walking distance. It's kind of noisy at times with cars and bikes driving by and honking their horns. The worst is when the local dogs start barking. But I've yet to have trouble sleeping. I thought about decorating it, but the Carvalho's aren't cool with me nailing into the walls so I'm keeping it simple for now. Right now I can hear a train in the distance and the fan in the living room is blowing a cool-ish breeze on my skin as I sit in my underwear at midnight with the door open.